disgusting to watch. >> for one reason for the possible delay in voting the aid package playing host to tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions dollars worth of pork barrel spending. then a short time ago word came out the house is expected to word on two aid bills. one vote will come friday, the other january 15th. so what does all this mean for the republican party? joining me now is bob russbaum, an advisor and lobbyist in d.c. and has consulted and worked as a fundraiser for congressional campaigns. the vote is coming in a week or two anyway. why so much fuss? >> well, i think the fuss from peter king and governor christie was before they knew the votes were going to happen. they thought the votes were going to happen right after the fiscal cliff. the senate passed the bill and wanted it to get to the president where they had to recast and the new congress starts tomorrow at noon. today peter king backtracked and said his anger at the

speaker is ancient history. >> it's a day old. >> ancient history, that he is not mad at the speaker. he's pleased with the outcome. there will be a vote friday on the $9 billion for the flood insurance program and on january 15th on the $51 billion. >> but let's get to the larger question. is there some sort of split in the republican party, something we've sort of seen signs of over this entire fiscal cliff debate? >> well, i think it would be too simplistic to say there is a split. there are definitely those that are more pragmatic than others, as there is in the democratic party as well, but when you're the party that controls the white house, you have to fall in line. the republicans are a little out in the wilderness. they only control 1/3 of the three parts of government and they feel like they're being ganged up on, so to speak, the fiscal cliff and then you have some pork stuff you just mentioned in your lead-in they want to tracy and then you've got this debt extension coming up in february which is going to make this fiscal cliff stuff look like kid's play.

>> that may well be, but the power of speaker boehner to get his troops in line seems seriously compromised. if they had voted for that plan b deal that they turned down a couple weeks ago, some say they'd be in a lot better position than with the deal they took. >> i agree with that. i supported plan b and speaker boehner in that position. i thought that $1 million both substantively and retoreically played well -- retore rickally played well with the -- rhetorically played well with the american people. he would have been much better positioned, as would the house republicans, but that wasn't to be and we know what happened. >> under the tom delay regime, the man they once referred to as the hammer, it was i govern with the majority of the majority and they seem to be able to get it all the time. why can't speaker boehner get it and if he's that weak, what does that say about the battle coming up over the debt ceiling? >> two things. one, i think that the reports

of speaker boehner's demise are way overstated and premature. he's going to be reelected tomorrow as speaker of the house and the memory in washington is measured in nanoseconds and speaker boehner is going to come out fine. the debt ceiling extension i think will be much harder to deal with and with much more dire consequences for our country if it's not handled correctly, if it's not extended, but i can tell you this now. i truly believe that the house of representatives will not extend the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts. >> all right on. that note we will have to leave it. thank you. we appreciate the conversation. let's do this again as that debt ceiling deal comes close. well, on to the fiscal cliff now where lawmakers from both sides are a bit disappointed with the last minute deal they made. >> i hate this agreement. i hate it with every fiber of my being. >> here to look at some of the hated details in this bill, tax

rates go up for individuals making more than $400,000 a year and families taking in more than 450,000. the estate tax goes up from 35 to 40%, but the first $5 million worth of property exempt from those taxes. the alternative minimum tax or amt has been permanently fixed meaning a lot of people who would have had to pay it now never will, plus capital gains and dividend tax rates increased from 15 to 20% for those highest earners. the big problem a lot of lawmakers have with this one, no spending cuts, at least not yet and no social security or medicare reform. president obama is back on vacation in hawaii with his family. there's no word when he signs off on the new bill and get this. another battle is already brewing. in two months as we just noted the treasury needs to increase the amount of money this nation can borrow. lawmakers must approve it. so the good news for most of success. this your tax rates aren't going up. however, remember this. that payroll tax holiday we've been enjoying the last couple

years is done. so the rate's going back up from 4.2 to 6.2% and as andrea mccarren explains, that increase affects virtually anyone who has a job. >> i guess i won't be getting my nails done and hair done. >> reporter: just weeks ago we asked self-described middle class taxpayers what more they could sacrifice. >> everything that's in my life is a necessity. >> i don't have any more to give them. >> reporter: but now wage earners will take home even less. >> now they're going to start paying that pay rolle tax which means they'll have reduced -- payroll tax which means they'll have reduced income and less money to buy products or services, modern, groceries. >> reporter: if you earn $30,000 a year, you'll pay about $50 more in taxes every month and if you're making 50,000 a year, you'll pay about $83 more a month and if you bring in $113,700 a year, you'll contribute an extra 189.50 a month in taxes.

andrea mccarren, 9 news. >> keep in mind that payroll tax does fund social security and the lower rate was costing the government $120 billion a year. apparently wall street liked the fiscal cliff deal well enough, the dow finishing up 308 points on the day. a young man spent the last 11 years on death row in a murder for hire conviction could be a free man tomorrow. >> reporter: i'm peggy fox in prince william county where a judge granted the release of justin wolfe whose conviction and death sentence were thrown out two years ago. terri steinberg embraced friends, family and legal team for their steadfast support in securing her son justin's release. >> it may be tomorrow justin will actually be breathing the same air, fresh air, for the first time. >> reporter: justin wolfe was in solitary confinement on death row for the past 11 years

after his murder for hire conviction and death sentence in the killing of danny petrole, but in 2005 the triggerman and star witness owen barber recanted his testimony and said wolfe had nothing to do with petrole's murder. >> owen stuck to the story that justin had nothing to do with this even after being talked to for an hour and a half. he stuck with that story. he has that same story since 2005. >> here tomorrow 5:00 happiest day. >> reporter: in manses, peggy fox, 9 news. -- in manassas, peggy fox, 9 news. hillary clinton is officially out of the hospital. this ends the confusion where we weren't quite sure whether she had or had not been released. secretary clinton has been hospitalized since sunday after doctors found a blood clot behind her right ear. exploding ammunition from a burning house sent firefighters and bystanders ducking for cover this morning. sky 9 was at the scene in maryland city about 8:30 this morning when firefighters were trying to rescue a man trapped

inside as bullets whizzed by their heads. that man passed away later. some people thought bullets was perhaps someone shooter, but it was hunting ammunition going off in the burning home. six members of the d.c. council were sworn in today including ward 8 council member marion barry. he's already logged some 30 years of service with the city. independent david grosso beat out michael brown in the november election. brown, a former independent, now plans to run as a democrat to fill the seat vacated by phil mendelson who is now council care. our own bruce johnson served as a master of ceremony. we know you want some tickets to sunday's playoff game, but buyer beware. we'll show you why some scam artists could be the big winners this weekend. >> one of the our colder nights ahead, many areas below freezing. we'll come back, see how low it's going to go, already 28

in gaithersburg.

i'm anita brikman with this health alarm the fda has approved a -- alert. the fda has approved a new flu vaccine for adults that's manufactured using animal cells. that processes faster taking weeks instead of months. health experts say this type of vaccine could be a rapidly produced weapon if a new strain emerged and we face a flu pandemic. >> this health alert is sponsored by cancer treatment centers of america, care that never quits. to learn more visit cancercenter.com.

if you haven't done it yet, be sure to download the 9 news ipad app. it offers you news at your fingertips. there's hd video plus live interactive weather maps just like the weather team used. it's all for free right in the app store right now also available for the kindle fire and some of those android tablets. authorities call this this safest school in america and -- call this the safest school many america. tomorrow the sandy hook survivors twill attend class in the neighboring town of monroe. workers have been prepping the school bringing over the old desks. life is full of trade-offs and tough choices. so will it be kids or career? a big house now or a big nest egg later? how about this one? a teenager's virginity or her dream of a better life?

18-year-old rebecca fernando lives in a small town in brazil. she wants out and wants to take her mother with her who suffered a stroke. rebecca posted a video to auction off her virginity. she received a lot of bids, the highest one for 35 grand. bare in mind prostitution is legal in brazil, but this sure does seem like a tough choice. one person who hopes rebecca does not go through with this is her ailing mom. we'll take a live look outside. topper has your full forecast coming up. >> plus learning the hard way, one family's firsthand experience about the dangers of buying those desired redskins tickets from strangers. ñ??

everybody all pumped up about some postseason football here in washington after sunday's big win over the hated cowboys. the redskins are shifting into playoff mode. >> reporter: i'm diane roberts in ashburn, virginia, where the washington redskins are preparing for their first post season game since 2007 against the seattle seahawks, a team that's very similar to them. seahawks on a five-game win streak, redskins on a seven- game win streak. both have a record setting rookie quarterback and both have a very good running back. >> that's why i think the game is going to be too exciting. it's going to be two heavyweights throwing punches all game and last man standing, we'll see who that may be. >> wilson is going to ryan! >> i see the similarities, but

i don't really care too much about that. i just know that we got to take care of our job on defense and get the ball back into the offensive hands to put up points. >> wow, two rookie quarterbacks running pretty much the same kind of offense, same kind of run offense. you can compare it a lot, but at the end of the day somebody has to be a winner. so hopefully it's us. >> reporter: i'm diane roberts for 9 sports. >> we will rock you, all right. this sunday's game obviously going to be one of the toughest tickets in town. if you're thinking about buying one from a secondary buyer, be careful. olney's jeff lowenthal paid 550 bucks to a guy on craigslist for two tickets to the game last sunday against the cowboys. minutes before halftime an usher showed up and told him he and his little girl would have to abandon their seats. turns out the tickets had already been sold online thus making the paper tickets invalid. >> sold us tickets twice and

made double the money knowing this was such a big game and that he could make a lot of money off it. >> yeah. local ticket brokers warn there could be a lot of scams going on sunday at fedex since all the tickets for this one are electronic and therefore, it's tougher to control. the best advice, only buy from someone you know or one of those reputable ticket brokers. after 17 seasons in the nfl baltimore ravens linebacker ray lewis is getting ready to call it a career. the 13 time pro bowler says he will retire after the playoffs. lewis has been sidelined all season long since october with a triceps injury. however, he expects to play this weekend against the indianapolis colts. so i guess the ravens will be fired up for that one. they don't want it to be his last game. >> no, they don't. he's a machine. >> he is an amazing player, hall of famer for sure. now weatherwise what are we looking at? >> this sunday it's going to be chilly, dry, no rain, no snow. >> football weather. >> i would dress for the 30s if

you're going up to baltimore or fedex. let's start with live look outside, our michael and son weather cam. this is right on wisconsin avenue looking northeast. traffic is moving along, no huge problems right now. let's take a look back, though. last six hours or so and you can see a lot of high and midlevel clouds in the immediate metro area. we'll see these clouds with us it looks like tonight and probably into tomorrow. so if you're south of town, maybe toward st. mary's county or calvert county, you will have a little more cloud cover than up in gaithersburg or germantown or leesburg. right now pretty quiet, temperatures 33, looking at a dew point in the midteens, very dry air mass, pressure rising, light winds, a cold night. when you see dew points in the teens, that's cold. satellite and radar picture combined, a lot of moisture again along the gulf coast. we've seen this pattern a lot the past couple weeks.

the moisture rarely gets up here. this will be no exception. this will stay south. the cloud cover, high and midlevel clouds from this system will throw some high and midlevel clouds tonight and tomorrow, particularly south of town. you don't need your umbrella. 30 in bethesda, 27 in gaithersburg, 29 in great falls, 30 in fairfax, 33 downtown. that's the new low so far for today and 31 over in college park. so it's going to stay chilly to cold. colder tonight. you'll need a heavy coat tomorrow, some clouds south of town and keep your sunglasses handy because you'll still have some sun getting through those high and midlevel clouds. partly cloudy, cold, tonight, a two to three blanket night, lows in the 20s, northwest winds at 10. tomorrow morning partly cloudy and cold, bundle up the kids at the bus stop, 20s and 30s, thankfully not much wind. by afternoon partly cloudy, cold, more clouds south of town, highs around 40, winds

out of the southwest at 10. next three days your 9 weather alerts green, just cold tomorrow, 40, breezy and cold friday, low 40s and saturday we're in pretty good shape, sunshine, temperatures back to the mid-40s. next seven days we're still in great shape, mid-40s sunday. so just chilly up in baltimore at fedex, dress for the 30s. i don't see any wind or precipitation and mid-40s monday. derek, you'll like this, near 50 on tuesday and low 50s wednesday. >> a little warming trend. got to be happy about that. >> january thaw. >> we'll be back in a minute.

well, in the mailbag tonight the fiscal cliff, no, we didn't fall off as many feared, but john from chantilly says there's no reason to celebrate. well, they did it again, the

president and senate, kicked that old can two months down the road. the president seems to have prevailed by raising $41 in taxes for of buck in spending cuts and not a word about raising the debt ceiling which we reached earlier this week. i know they said they'd deal with all that in the next two months. i've heard that before. is this a great country or what? seems that or what is winning out. john, your points are well taken except i am holding out hope there is a will to deal with all the things you're talking about. have you checked out the president's demeanor lately? he's been in his no more mr. nice guy mode since the election. i'm hoping that no nonsense attitude carries over into fixing entitlements and reforming the tax code. then there was this on the healthcare workers in indiana, fired for refusing to take a flu shot. emily from fairfax says get ready to go to court over that one. it seems being fired for not getting a flu shot is good grounds for a lawsuit if the employees were not provided an

alternative. many hospitals required employees to wear a facemask, works well for everybody. deb from arlington says getting fired just doesn't seem fair. of course, the workers shouldn't be fired if they refuse to get a flu shot. when i got mine, the nurse asked if i was allergic to many things and, if, so no flu shot. since these people are in the medical profession, i dare say they're aware of their own bodies and health which we all should be and therefore have a right to refuse certain medical treatment so which i say that's quite valid, but is that really the best thing for the safety of the patients? we all know the story, the people who entered the hospital for some minor thing and then died because they got an infection inside the hospital. the hospital in question did allow exceptions for some workers for their allergies and the like, but at the end of the day if it's you or your relative being treated, why would you ever want anyone caring for them who hadn't had a flu shot? maybe it's just me. your thoughts welcome at the mailbag, the address

mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be right back here at 11:00 along with anita and topper. don't forget log on any time you like to www.wusa9.com. have a great night. we'll see you a bit later. bye bye.

when people say pregnancy is, like, fun and they love it, i would have to disagree. >> kim kardashian's pregnancy interview. the "e.t." first. >> are you having morning sickness, cravings? >> her peek-a-boo lace threads. dad kanye west by her side. plus -- >> is there any end in sight for the divorce of kim kardashian and kris humphries. >> i certainly hope so. >> will kim's baby affect her upcoming divorce battle? we have her attorney tonight. david letterman's only interview about the sex scandal that could have ruined his marriage. >> you want to get through your whole life and not have the word sex scandal attached to your name. >> oprah's special preview to "e.t." >> i'm not looking to blame anybody. i'm looking to find out why i behave the way i behave. was hillary released from the